Geneva prosecutors have fined a Swiss bank for failing to alert money laundering authorities about a portion of more than $100 million from Saudi Arabia that went to former Spanish King Juan Carlos and his ex-lover, but dropped possible charges against his associates in the case.
The Geneva prosecutor's office, in a statement Monday, said it partially dropped an investigation opened three years ago of five people for alleged money laundering, while deciding that the Mirabaud bank had failed to properly communicate with the Swiss money laundering office.

The coronavirus pandemic is not the first crisis to force monetary policymakers into drastic action to avert economic disaster.

A French court fined Swiss bank UBS 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion) on Monday on appeal for its role in helping French residents commit tax fraud.

Major European and Asian stock markets traded mixed Monday, the start of a week set to be dominated by central bank decisions on interest rates amid surging inflation.

The Turkish currency dipped to an all-time low Monday amid another anticipated interest rate cut later this week and after the S&P credit rating agency downgraded its outlook for Turkey.
The Turkish lira plummeted to 14.75 against the U.S. dollar, prompting Turkey's Central Bank to intervene by selling off foreign currency.

The Lebanese currency continued its decline on the black market Monday, with an unprecedented rate exceeding 26,000 against the dollar.
The pound had been pegged -- and officially still is -- to the dollar since 1997 at a rate of 1,500.

Energy Minister Walid Fayyad traveled Sunday to Paris on an official visit during which he will meet with top officials in the energy, electricity and water sectors, state-run National News Agency reported.
“He will also meet with a number of officials at French electricity company EDF, the French Development Agency (AFD), which is funding several water and sewage projects, and the Total (Energies) firm, which is working on (offshore oil and gas) blocks 4 and 9,” NNA added.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are gathering for a weekend in Liverpool, with the British hosts seeking elusive unity to ease growing tensions with Russia, China and Iran.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is due to greet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other G-7 counterparts Friday evening ahead of two days of talks in the northwest England port city famed for its youthful energy, its soccer teams and The Beatles.

Chinese leaders on Friday promised tax cuts and support for entrepreneurs to shore up slumping economic growth after a campaign to rein in surging corporate debt caused bankruptcies and defaults among real estate developers.
A statement issued after an annual planning meeting led by President Xi Jinping called for "maintaining stability," reflecting anxiety about rising risks after economic growth sagged to an unexpectedly low 4.9% over a year earlier in the quarter ending in September.

Australia's military said Friday it plans to ditch its fleet of European-designed Taipan helicopters and instead buy U.S. Black Hawks and Seahawks because the American machines are more reliable.
The move comes less than three months after Australia canceled a deal to buy French submarines in favor of building nuclear-powered submarines that use U.S. and British technology in a switch that deeply angered France.
